A new feature film aimed at raising awareness of breast cancer and the importance of increasing early detection and diagnosis is in pre-production in St Albans.

The film, which will be ready in October 2022, is being developed by independent production company My Good Side. It will initially be shown online , and then at independent cinemas with its premiere at BAFTA.

With a £1m crowdfunding target, filming is planned to take place in and around St Albans in April and May. The script, about a breast cancer patient who is diagnosed and must find the daughter she gave up for adoption before it’s too late, is with star A-list actors and awaiting confirmation of funding being secured.

Producer Sharon Axcell said: "The crowdfunding route is a great way of raising awareness of the film's underlying message. We have already had some fantastic pledges from some supporters which give them access to an array of benefits including director’s screenings - they can even pay to appear in the film. But we have a long way to go until we hit our target of £1,054,340, and early support is essential!”

The project has been developed by a team of writers who attended a screenwriters’ ‘boot camp’ in 2018. They discovered that 90% of the attendees were affected either directly or indirectly by breast cancer. One of them was formally diagnosed the day after the course ended. In her words: “You couldn’t make this up!”

This encouraged the team to make their film and reach as many people as possible. Through the power of screen drama, they are aiming to encourage women (and men) to self-examine and get screened regularly, all of which will increase the likelihood of those affected surviving breast cancer. With one in eight women diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime, and 11,500 people dying of breast cancer every year, this film is intended to have a huge impact and reach a big audience, with the aim of compelling viewers to take prompt action.

People and businesses can support the campaign by donating to the crowdfunding campaign or by sponsoring film production elements such as locations and equipment.

The campaign, which ends on February 15 at 8pm, is being run on Kickstarter at https://kickstarter.com/projects/mgsfilms/my-good-side-fiction-feature-film.